


side-effects

by AFireInTheAttic



Series: Quote Meme Prompts [7]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-27
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2019-01-25 07:33:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12526216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AFireInTheAttic/pseuds/AFireInTheAttic
Summary: When she finally manages a full shift, she doesn’t want to change back.Or: Malia and Isaac sit quietly in the preserve and no one comments on it.





	side-effects

**Author's Note:**

> Cross-posted from my old tumblr, and written for [Stephanie](http://cinderslinhs.tumblr.com/) on tumblr. <3 
> 
> I think I wrote this like 2 or 3 years ago but never posted it, so! enjoy.
> 
> "I like when you smile."

Isaac’s not around the first few times Malia tries to shift. The first time she manages to grow claws, she laughs and dances around the room.

She also nearly takes Stiles’ eyes out, but that’s not a big deal. It’s like, Tuesday, or something, for him.

When she finally manages a full shift, she doesn’t want to change back. She does, for her dad’s sake, but she cuts school and hangs out in the woods, sunbathing on rocks and running her old trails. There  _are_  actual mountain lions in the woods which means she has to constantly be on alert, though. They never attack her, or maybe she just never runs into any.

But  _he’s_  there, one day, sitting in a tree branch and watching her.

It’s weird. She doesn’t stop, just keeps trotting through the preserve until she reaches her old home and takes a nap there.

Isaac is  _weird_. And probably messed up from losing Allison. It’s something she understands, even if she’s been a coyote for…however many years. She can’t even remember, anymore. But she remembers losing her family. That’s an ache that doesn’t disappear when she puts on her pelt.

Okay, maybe it’s not so weird that he’s just sitting here in the woods. How different is it than what she’s been doing?

After her nap, she trots back to where he was and finds him sprawled on the ground, looking up at the sky through the foliage.

She licks his face in greeting, because she doesn’t want to shift back yet.

He huffs out some laughter at that. “Hey.”

She settles down beside him and pants at him. it’s not really a natural action for her, but the pack in general seems to be more comfortable when she acts dog-like.

Humans are  _weird_. Werewolves are  _slightly_  less so, maybe.

He buries his fingers in her fur and pets her gently. “I can’t speak French,” he sighs. “Kind of hard to live in France like that.”

She chuffs out a laugh—or something like it—and he smiles at her.

“I like when you smile,” she thinks, but it’s nothing she can say out loud, given her current form. She rubs her head under his chin instead.

Close enough.

He shuts his eyes and wraps an arm around her for a better angle to pet her with. “Thanks, Malia…you’re a lot nicer than Stiles said.”

That’s because Stiles is an….uh…asshole. That’s what Scott said. The term seems apt. Isaac hasn’t offended her yet, so she can’t really cast judgement on him…except that he does have a nice smile, and she’d like to see it again.

The next time she runs through the preserve and sees him waiting in a tree, she settles down at the trunk of it and yips at him until he comes down.

He’s the best at coming the burs out of her fur, anyway.


End file.
